Cabinet nod for Rs 1,738 cr project to develop towns

The Karnataka government on Thursday decided to implement the second phase of Chief Minister’s Small and Medium Town Development Programme at a cost of Rs 1,738 crore in various cities and towns across the state. As part of the programme, the government would release funds to urban local bodies for floating tenders immediately, minister for urban development, S Suresh Kumar said.

Briefing reporters after a meeting of the state cabinet, chaired by chief minister Jagadish Shettar, here, he said the government proposes to take up pending road and drainage works in various cities and towns. About 80 per cent of the funds would be spent on road works and the balance 20 per cent on drainage works, he said adding that tenders would be floated for works costing Rs 1,390 crore immediately. The balance Rs 400 crore would be released in phases.

The Cabinet also approved the proposal to increase the compensation to farmers for their land from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 35 lakh per acre being acquired by the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB).

The KIADB is acquiring 666 acres land at Vemagal in Kolar district for developing a new industrial estate. Earlier, the KIADB had fixed Rs 25 lakh per acre and increased to Rs 29 lakh per acre. However, farmers went on agitation demanding higher compensation. Finally, the cabinet agreed to raise it to Rs 35 lakh per acre, he said.

The government also cleared a proposal of the Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited to build 11 new bridges in different parts of the state at a cost of Rs 91.74 crore. State government employees would get medical reimbursement if they undergo in-vitro fertilisation (fertility) treatment with a maximum amount of Rs 60,000, the minister said.

The Cabinet also approved a proposal to build a memorial to commemorate the sesquicentennial (150th) birthday of Swami Vivekananda at Belgaum where the founder of Ramakrishna Math had stayed for four days in 1882.

The government has decided to allot to Ramakrishna Mission a piece of land measuring 150 ft by 80 ft belonging to the Belgaum City Corporation free of cost to build the memorial which would also house a centre to impart moral education to the youth.

The building where Vivekananda had stayed has been declared a heritage building. The Central government has expressed its keenness to join hands to build the memorial structure and provide Rs 10 crore assistance for the same, Kumar said.

The government is planning to invite President Pranab Mukherjee to lay the foundation stone for the memorial during his visit to Belgaum for the inauguration of Suvarna Soudha, he said.